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Mortgage Stress test - Everything you need to know and more
Mortgage Stress test – Everything you need to know and more
Many homebuyers ask me how the new mortgage stress test rules affect them. Is the mortgage stress test just for purchasing a home? Do you have to pass the stress ...
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When Do You Need a Co-Signer For Your Mortgage?
When Do You Need a Co-Signer For Your Mortgage?
Mortgage qualifying rules are stricter than ever before. Mortgage rates are rising, and homes are more expensive in Canada. In this market, it's not always easy qualifying for a mortgage ...
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7 Things You Need To Know About Bridge Mortgages
7 Things You Need To Know About Bridge Mortgages
If your current home will not be sold prior to buying your next home, you probably need a bridge mortgage. The cost and ability to access such financing can vary ...
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Recent Articles

Should I Convert My Variable Rate Mortgage to Fixed?
Should I Convert My Variable Rate Mortgage to Fixed?
Homeowners in Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Toronto and the GTA with variable rate mortgages watch in dismay as the Bank of Canada ratchets up the Overnight Rate. Should they convert to ...
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Variable Rate Mortgages Are About To Hit Their Trigger Rate
Variable Rate Mortgages Are About To Hit Their Trigger Rate
What is about to happen to variable rate mortgages? Most variable rate mortgages have static monthly payments, which protect the borrower’s cash flow from changes to the Prime Rate. Four ...
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July 13th Bank of Canada Announcement
July 13th Bank of Canada Announcement
The Bank of Canada has increased the overnight rate by a whopping 1%, which means the chartered banks will most likely raise their Prime Rate to 4.70% by this time ...
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Mortgage Stress test - Everything you need to know and more
Mortgage Stress test – Everything you need to know and more
Many homebuyers ask me how the new mortgage stress test rules affect them. Is the mortgage stress test just for purchasing a home? Do you have to pass the stress ...
Read More

COVID-19

How to Fix or Rebuild Credit Fast in Canada
How to Fix or Rebuild Credit Fast in Canada
Situations often arise where a new mortgage application, or car loan/lease, is impacted by a credit score that's lower than ...
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COVID-19 Impact on Canadians' Financial Well-Being
COVID-19 Impact on Canadians’ Financial Well-Being
Running commentary and news updates on COVID-19's impact on banking, real estate, mortgages, government relief programs, personal credit, and other ...
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COVID-19 EI Benefits and CERB Updates -- Q & A from Social Media
COVID-19 EI Benefits and CERB Updates — Q & A from Soc...
Stay at home orders have forced many Canadians to be temporarily out of work and collecting government benefits for the ...
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COVID-19 Q & A: Is It Possible to Renew a Mortgage While In a Consumer Proposal?
COVID-19 Q & A: Is It Possible to Renew a Mortgage While In ...
A reader asks whether COVID-19 has affected her ability to renew a mortgage while still in a consumer proposal, and ...
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Mortgages 101 -- What You Need to Know Before Applying For a Mortgage
Mortgages 101 — What You Need to Know Before Applying For a...
Most first-time buyers lack sufficient funds to purchase their home outright and require loan financing (a mortgage) to make it ...
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How To Bypass Canada's Mortgage Stress Test When It Gives a False Negative
How To Bypass Canada’s Mortgage Stress Test When It Gives a...
Canada's mortgage stress test was designed to help ensure Canadians don’t overstep their financial means. However, there are special cases ...
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Mortgage Pre-Approval In Canada: What It Is & How To Get It
Mortgage Pre-Approval In Canada: What It Is & How To Get It
Mortgage pre-approval is used by lenders to “vet” borrowers and estimate spending ability for a home purchase. Seven factors determine ...
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First Time Home Buyers Ontario: Everything You Need to Buy Your First Home
First Time Home Buyers Ontario: Everything You Need to Buy Your F...
In this primer for first time homebuyers, we examine how you know you're ready to take the leap, 7 steps ...
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You Must Review Your Credit History Before a Mortgage
You Must Review Your Credit History Before a Mortgage
Discovery of errors on a credit report at the last minute could have cost homebuyers the home they wanted if ...
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All Articles

July 13th Bank of Canada Announcement
July 13th Bank of Canada Announcement
The Bank of Canada has increased the overnight rate by a whopping 1%, which means the chartered banks will most likely raise their Prime ...
Read More
Mortgage Stress test - Everything you need to know and more
Mortgage Stress test – Everything you need to know and more
Many homebuyers ask me how the new mortgage stress test rules affect them. Is the mortgage stress test just for purchasing a home? Do ...
Read More
8 Ways the Federal Budget 2022 Affects You
8 Ways the Federal Budget 2022 Affects You
Federal Budget 2022 - Mortgage and Real Estate Impacts. Last week’s Federal Government 2022 Budget included a much-improved roadmap for first-time homebuyers to potentially ...
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Three Ways To Beat The Mortgage Stress Test
Three Ways To Beat The Mortgage Stress Test
Updated July 18, 2022All major banks are now offering five year fixed rate mortgages at greater than 5%. And the increases are showing no ...
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Rate Hikes Coming - Here's What To Do
Rate Hikes Coming – Here’s What To Do
There seem to be three big things on everyone's minds these days: The incredible pace at which real estate everywhere is increasing in price.Inflation ...
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When Do You Need a Co-Signer For Your Mortgage?
When Do You Need a Co-Signer For Your Mortgage?
Mortgage qualifying rules are stricter than ever before. Mortgage rates are rising, and homes are more expensive in Canada. In this market, it's not ...
Read More
What Is The Impact Of Rising Interest Rates On Mortgage Pre-Approvals?
What Is The Impact Of Rising Interest Rates On Mortgage Pre-Appro...
With inflation in Canada at its highest levels in 18 years, talk has resumed about the prospect of higher mortgage interest rates much sooner ...
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First Time Homebuyer Mortgage Checklist
First Time Homebuyer Mortgage Checklist
When you are making plans to buy your first home, it's impossible to know what you don't know. This first time homebuyer mortgage checklist ...
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What's The Best Mortgage Rate?
What’s The Best Mortgage Rate?
Published: • Reputable mortgage specialists do not believe the number one factor in selecting a mortgage is the interest rate. Once you understand what ...
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Ready To Buy A Home? How To Assemble A Great Support Team
Ready To Buy A Home? How To Assemble A Great Support Team
Everyone needs a home-buying support team that includes a real estate agent, mortgage specialist, and real estate lawyer. As you search for the right ...
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Your Down Payment
Why You Need A Down Payment Strategy
Having the right down payment strategy can save you a lot of money in the long term, and pay back with more equity growth ...
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Mortgage Lingo You Need To Know
Mortgage Lingo You Need To Know
Glossary and explanation of important mortgage terms, with links to relevant articles that discuss the nitty gritty. Links to related concepts make this glossary ...
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Mortgage Pre-Approval FAQs
Mortgage Pre-Approval FAQs
Mortgage pre-approval is essential to knowing what your affordability range is before you make an offer to purchase a home. We explain how lenders ...
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Why Is My Mortgage Application Declined?
Why Is My Mortgage Application Declined?
Mortgage #FAILS. Learn the underwriting risk factors that lenders use when evaluating your mortgage application, and the top 10 reasons why you may not ...
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First Time Homebuyer? The Government Wants To Give You Money.
First Time Homebuyer? The Government Wants To Give You Money.
How to get your share of government financial incentives available Canadian first time homebuyers. There's lots available, but in most cases you need to ...
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High Ratio Mortgages Explained
High Ratio Mortgages Explained
'High ratio mortgage' is a term many first time homebuyers haven't heard before, and often they don't understand how much it impacts what they ...
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Aftermath of COVID-19: Dramatic Shifts in Housing Supply, Demand and Costs
Aftermath of COVID-19: Dramatic Shifts in Housing Supply, Demand ...
Adjusting to a post COVID-19 world, many things will be different, some permanently. We analyze how Canadian housing markets, including supply, demand and costs ...
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10 Things Feature Images
Top 10 Things Your Home Buying Budget Needs To Include (In Additi...
How Do You Ensure Your Homebuying Budget Covers Everything You'll Need For Closing Day? Buyers quickly learn it's much more than just coming with ...
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How Will Borrowers Be Impacted By CMHC's Tougher Canadian Mortgage Qualification Rules?
How Will Borrowers Be Impacted By CMHC’s Tougher Canadian M...
With a shell-shocked COVID-19 Canadian economy as backdrop, CMHC moved to tighten lending standards for insured mortgages. New rules for CMHC-insured mortgages are intended ...
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Mortgages 101 -- What You Need to Know Before Applying For a Mortgage
Mortgages 101 — What You Need to Know Before Applying For a...
Most first-time buyers lack sufficient funds to purchase their home outright and require loan financing (a mortgage) to make it work. In this article, ...
Read More